Cairo: Around a dozen Palestinians were permitted to return to Gaza from Egypt late Monday after the reopening of the Rafah border crossing was delayed for hours. Their arrival followed the evacuation of a small group of wounded Palestinians who were transported from Gaza into Egypt earlier in the day.
While the reopening marked an important milestone under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, it remained largely symbolic, with limited movement and no commercial goods allowed to pass. Officials had earlier said about 50 people would be permitted to cross in each direction, but actual numbers fell far short.
Gaza health authorities estimate that nearly 20,000 people in need of medical treatment are waiting to leave the enclave through Rafah. Thousands of Palestinians stranded outside Gaza are also hoping to return.
The crossing had remained shut since May 2024, when Israeli forces took control of the area. Officials said the number of travellers would gradually increase if the process runs smoothly, with both Israel and Egypt screening those entering and exiting.
Television footage showed ambulances lining up for hours before transporting patients into Egypt. Shortly before midnight, a bus carrying Palestinian returnees arrived in Gaza, where families gathered at a hospital in Khan Younis to welcome loved ones who had fled earlier in the conflict.
Before the war, Rafah served as Gaza’s primary gateway to the outside world. Under the ceasefire terms, Israel maintains military control over the zone between the crossing and the populated areas of Gaza.
Fighting continued across the territory on Monday. Hospital officials reported that an Israeli naval strike hit a tent camp, killing a 3-year-old boy. Israel’s military said it was reviewing the incident.
Egyptian authorities said about 150 hospitals are prepared to receive patients evacuated through Rafah. The Egyptian Red Crescent has also set up support facilities on the Egyptian side of the border. Since the war began, more than 10,000 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, according to the World Health Organisation, though evacuations slowed sharply after Israel seized the crossing.
Israel has barred patients from travelling to hospitals in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which were previously major treatment centers for Gazans.
UN officials have urged more countries to accept patients from Gaza to ensure access to medical care.
The Rafah crossing will now be overseen by European Union border officials along with a small Palestinian presence. Egypt has repeatedly stressed that the crossing must remain open for both entry and exit, rejecting any attempt to force Palestinians out of Gaza.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that five Palestinians were brought to hospitals in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. Among them were two bodies recovered from under the rubble, in addition to four wounded individuals.
According to the ministry, the total death toll and injuries since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, have now reached 71,800 victims and 171,555 wounded.
